The Son of Neptune is the second in the series of the Heroes of Olympus in which Rick Riordan has graciously given us back the characters we have come to love and feared we will miss after the end of the final book of the Camp Half Blood series – the Last Olympian.

If there was one thing I realized after reading Son of Neptune – its the fact that I am a bonafide Percy Jackson fan! *blush* I have read the five books of the first series and then moved on to read the first book of the Kane Chronicles – the Red Pyramid. Sadly, I found out that I actually refer Greek myths to Egyptian myths, it’s probably because I like the free-spirit and independent Greeks to the stoic and comformist Romans, I’m not sure; and that I like Percy Jackson over and above all the characters Rick Riordan created.  I guess it must be because of all his characters Percy was the one with the most developed personality. He did have 5 books behind him, more than enough time for Rick Riordan to fully develop him into a believable character. Add to that the fact that among all his characters Percy seemed have that solid combination of smarts, a bit of teenage angst and humor.

I read book one of the series, The Lost Hero, but even though I am, as a reader, is reunited with Grover and Annabeth and the book was exciting in its own way but even then you always feel like you want to know where Percy. I mean, I personally, kept expecting a clue to appear as to Percy’s whereabouts. I mean, even if he was not in the book the title still feels like it was referring to him, right? Although, now I realized it might also refer to Jason Grace as he was lost too, but whatever to me it means Percy being lost.

So needless to say that I thoroughly enjoyed book 2 of the Heroes of Olympus series..and I can’t wait for the next installment which unfortunately won’t be coming out until next year. Hmp! It’s like I’m back to waiting for Harry Potter again.  I must admit that as a character Harry Potter was better developed and a lot darker than Percy Jackson but somehow..Percy is filling the void that Harry left behind. I still miss Harry and I really wish there would be more books written about him or relative to the Potter series…BUT that’s a completely different story and blog all together. For now allow me to stick to Percy Jackson.

Book 2 (Son of Neptune) began almost exactly where book 1 left off. Almost because, in the first chapter of the book we were informed of what had happened to Percy in the last 8 months. While Jason Grace was running around with Grover and Annabeth trying to stay alive while the forces of Gaea came after them; Percy was asleep. Yes, he was put to sleep by Hera in her personality as Juno in order to keep him alive and when he woke up he had lost some of his memories (again a work of Juno) in order for him be open enough to the training by Lupa. After training for some time with Lupa, Percy was allowed to leave the wolf’s haven and go out in search of himself. Apparently, the lost of his memory was actually to keep him safe, and the same thing was done to Jason Grace however Jason was not put to sleep. I do not understand yet the reason for the difference in their treatment but what was clear what that it had to be done so that they would be safe from the other camp.

It was all Hera/Juno’s master plan. The exchange of heroes was need to unite the two forces and in turn have them help to save Olympus. Apparently, the Greek camp and the Roman camp hate each other with a vengence and that a member of the opposing camp would most probably be harmed if they happen to come across members of the other camp which was sure to happen considering that Percy was taken to the San Francisco where Camp Jupiter is and Jason Grace was taken to New York where Camp Half Blood is.  It is important to note here that the gods and goddesses seemed to be a lot more mellow and rational and less whimsical in their Roman state than in their Greek persona. Ares actually made a point of talking to Percy and he actually cared about his children as Mars; and  Hera was able to set her hatred aside and determined to help Percy in any way she can in her persona as Juno.  Percy naturally was apprehensive of the changes and continued to be so until the end of the book.

Now as we saw Jason team up with Anabeth and Grover, Percy the amiable guy as ever was able to team up with two exciting (or were they exciting because they were with Percy?) in any case he teamed up with Hazel (daughter of Hades) and Frank Zhang (the son of Mars). Both characters have very interesting and dark backgrounds which only add to the allure of the book. I am be getting ahead of myself here but it just seemed like Riordan seemed to write more exciting scenes when he write with Percy than with his other characters. Honestly, Red Pyramid nearly put me to sleep.

I will go into details of what happened in the book as I would really like whoever is reading this review to go out and read the books for themselves. However, I will say that it was an exciting and beautiful ride. The ending was satisfying enough as all the major issues in the book was resolved but it left some one bigger issues that needed to be resolve in another book. I mean, you feel contented and yet you can’t wait for the next installment. At least that’s how I feel.

My fascination with the Iga and Kouga clans started several years back. This was when I got involved in an online group game started by the Filipino-Japan forum I was in.

I found out that the two clans actually exists in feudal Japan and that they were warriors of amazing skills. Though I was not among those completely fascinated with the ninja genre I was completely enthralled with the historical facts embedded into the legends of the Iga and Kouga clans. It was in my search for more information about these clans that I found out about the anime series “Basilisk” which was based on the 1958 novel by Futaro Yamada titled “The Kouga Ninja Scroll”.

The novel was made into a manga series created by Masaki Segawa titled Basilisk, which was later followed by another manga series titled “The Yagyu Ninja Scroll”. The manga was converted into an anime series in 2005 under Gonzo studios. And later that year, a movie called “Shinobi” came out which was also based on the legend of the Iga and Kouga clans.  Much of the Kouga and Iga stories were embellished with exaggeration and fantastical tales of superhuman feats. However, some things  were kept factual such as….

> There exists in reality the Iga and Kouga and they were indeed skilled warriors.  Historical records state that certain individuals or families from the Iga/Kouga or modern the Mie/Omi regions were noted for possessing specific skills.

> The Iga/Kouga regions were generally accepted by historians as the birth of Ninjitsu or as it was properly called in olden times “shinobi”.  Because of their special skills the shinobi were often employed by the ruling feudal lords for their own purposes. Often when an Iga clan is employed by one side the opposing side is more than likely to employ the Kouga clan. Thus, the much read about rivalry between the two clans.

> Because of the remoteness of the regions they inhabit both clans were able to hone and perfect their individual special skills without regulations from the ruling lords. The shinobi warriors were made up most of ordinary people forced to take up arms to defend themselves against oppression from this or that lord. However it is not uncommon to find a disgraced lord among the shinobi, the region of the Iga/Kouga clan became a refuge for people who wanted to get away from the oppressive rule of the samurai nobilities.

> Both the Kouga and Iga clans were employed during the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate; the Iga were made the personal/closed in guards of the Emperor while the Kouga acted as the perimeter guards.

Movie and Anime

Both the movie and the anime series were closely adapted to the above stated facts. For this reason they have a lot of things in common and some pronounced differences.

Comparisons:

- Both the movie and the anime stated that the two clans were forced to enter into a “pact of no hostility” after Hotahori Hanzou invaded the regions and nearly wiped out the Iga clans. They were then employed into the service of the emperor. This was evident in both the movie and the anime however it was more comprehensively explained in the anime.

-  Danjou (Kouga leader)  and Ogen (Iga chieftess) were former lovers. They were star crossed lovers looking forward to the agreement between the clans to be meted out so they can finally reveal their affair to their families. However, a fateful attack by Oda Nobunaga with the assistance of the Kouga clan sealed their fate forever.  Without his knowledge the Kouga assisted in the attack to the Iga Tsubagakure, Ogen was unable to forgive him for the lost of her family and people thus ended their affair. But Danjou never gave up on achieving peace between the two clans so after the peace pact was made, Danjou allowed his adopted grandson, Gennosuke, to be engaged to Ogen’s granddaugther, Oboro. This however was not clearly stated in the movie.

- That Oboro and Gennosuke was actually engaged to be married prior to the fight to the death that happened between the clans.

- Among the ruling lords a conflict has started between the supporters of the two grandsons and apparent heirs of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the retired shogun. At the time, the ruling lords have also become concerned with the peace between the clans thus allowing both sides to hone their skills enough to perform almost superhuman feats. In order to hit two birds with a single stone, so to speak, Ieyasu decreed that a battle between the two clans shall decide who shall be designated as the next shogun following his son, Hidetada. The Iga shall fight for Iemitsu, the elder son while the Kouga shall fight for the younger son, Tadanaga. However shall win the battle will decide the next shogun when Hidetada retires.

- Ogen and Danjou were summoned to Sunpu castle and were told to bring their best warriors with them during the meeting with the shogun. There their warriors were made to demonstrate their skills. It was also then that Ieyasu told them of the planned contest to decide the next shogun and so both leaders were asked to list down on identical scrolls the names of 10 of their best warriors. In the movie, probably due to time constraints the battle consisted of only 5 warriors. The shinobi will fight to the death and the defeated/dead ninja’s name will then  be crossed out from the scroll using blood. Now, the viewer may think this is absurd but the shinobi actually looked forward to the battle. Even though they have been at peace for many years the rivalry between the clans were too deeply rooted in their blood that any chance of being able fight the other to the death was welcome by either side.

- Ogen and Danjou were the first casualties of the battle. They killed each other even before they left Sunpu and thus it was left to their warriors to deliver the news to their respective clans. In the movie, the scrolls arrive on both clans whereas the anime showed the pains and the treachery that took place even before the scrolls reached Oboro and Gennosuke.  Because the anime was longer it was able to better explain and elaborate many of the circumstances that the movie was not able to make probably due to time constraints.

- The movie failed to properly develop the characters in the series most especially, the kunoichi (female ninja). It failed to show the emotional attachments between Hotarubi and Yashamaru. I personally would have loved to see more of Hotarubi in the movie considering she was portrayed by Erika Sawajiri, but even if her appearance in the movie was short Hotarubi effectively served as the turning pointing for Oboro’s character. The movie also failed to show the relationship between Okoi and Saemon (siblings)…actually the movie only showed Saemon, Okoi was completely taken out from the film but it would have been nice to see how they would present her skills as her entire body is likened to a leech that sucks the blood on any exposed skin of the enemy that she is able to touch. Okoi is able to adhere her skin onto her opponent’s and then absorb their blood into herself; leaving her enemies as dried up husks. Upon completion, Okoi must then vomit out the excess blood before she can use the technique again. As more contact equals faster blood drain she is dressed in a more revealing manner than the other kunoichi with a hip length sleeveless kimono and shortened hakama. Needless to say, she is one very interesting character, too bad we didn’t see her in the movie.  Another kunoichi which I would have loved to see in the movie was Akeginu, she was the bodyguard and confidant of Oboro. A highly attractive woman, Akeginu  is representative of the historically accurate version of the kunoichi in her ability to use her sex appeal against the opposite sex. In combat, her technique enables her to secrete blood from her pores which she can then squirt into an opponents face to blind them or to create a fine mist which grants her the cover to move and attack in complete stealth. Her technique can also be used to “tag” an opponent who specializes in covert movement.

- Although we saw Koshirou in the movie as the hand scythe bearing Iga shinobi, the movie was not able to use or show his other ability. Koshirou’s technique enables him to create miniature whirlwinds with his breath which suck his enemies in and then shreds them to pieces.

- Other characters that were taken out of the film were Azuki Rousai. Rousai is a short statured man with an even shorter temper and is an elderly man with massive gourd-shaped head; he is a highly skilled martial artist whose punches and kicks are capable of felling trees and smashing rocks with one blow. As such, he’s one of the few characters who specializes in unarmed combat. Additionally, Rousai’s ninja technique enables him to stretch and contort his limbs in fantastic ways.  Another character not seen on the film was Jingoro, he is one of the few Iga ninjas who specialize in assassination rather than combat, preferring to sneak up on his opponents and being quick to flee once he suffers a disadvantage. He is also able to dissolve into a viscous semi-liquid form; enabling him to slither through the tightest of passages, ooze his way up vertical surfaces, and silently creep onto his target to deliver the killing stroke. We also missed to see Kazamachi Shogen, a grotesque and malformed hunchback with long gangly limbs and oversized hands and feet which grant him the agility and dexterity of a spider; and Jimushi Junbei, a living torso. Jubei lacks both arms and legs but is able to move by flexing his chest muscles to manipulate the armor plates sewn onto his tunic, allowing him to slither along the ground at extremely high speeds. He also has a metal tail attachment which he can use to deflect weapons and control himself as he moves. In place of arms, Jubei has trained his tongue to extend out of his mouth to manipulate objects as well as to draw and attack with the dagger he keeps sheathed inside his esophagus. He is gifted in astrology, which he uses to predict the Kouga’s future with surprising accuracy. His end is met by the revived Tenzen, who sees past his only weapon and slices him in half.

I will not divulge how the movie or the anime ended. This you will have to find out for yourself. I will however say that the ending differ greatly and will be up to you to decide which ending you refer.

The Deathly Hallows were three powerful objects given by Death himself to the Peverell Brothers. According to the story, hundreds of years ago at twilight the three brothers – Antioch, Cadmus and Ignotus – were travelling the countryside when they came upon a turbulent river and were unable to cross. Being wizards they created a bridge over the river to enable themselves to cross. Death was angered that he had been cheated of three victims and so avenge himself to the brothers he pretended to congratulate them on being so clever. To show his appreciation he offered to give each of them anything they so desired.

Antioch being a proud and competitive man wanted to be invincible to battle and so asked for a wand that can never be defeated. Death broke a branch from a nearby tree and made the Elder Wand, a wand more powerful than any in existence.

Cadmus wished to resurrect his lost love, and so Death took a stone from the riverbed and created for him the Resurrection Stone, a stone capable of bringing the dead back to the living world.

Ignotus, the last brother was wary of the gifts, he realized the danger of the situation and requested a means by which Death could not find him. Grudgingly Death took the cloak off his back and gave him the Cloak of Invisibility, a cloak that hides its wearer and never lost its power through curses or age.

Thus, the three brothers received the Deathly Hallows.

In time the brother went their separate ways. Antioch Peverell travelled to a wizarding village where he boasted of the Elder Wand in his possession. His throat was sliced in his sleep by a wizard hoping to take the Elder Wand for himself.

Cadmus travelled back home and used the Resurrection Stone to bring back the woman he loved, but was dismayed to find that it was only a pale imitation of her: the dead did not truly belong in the living world. In the end, Cadmus committed suicide by hanging himself so he could truly join her.

Ignotus used the cloak to remain hidden from Death for a long time. When he was an old man, he passed the cloak onto his son, greeted Death as an old friend, and went with him to the next world. The cloak continued to be passed on from father to child among Ignotus’ descendants over the years.  The Peverell name was lost over the years through the male descendants but it continued to be passed on through family members. Harry Potter without knowing it was in possession of one of the Deathly Hallows as early as the age of 11. He was a descendant of the Peverell family from the line of Ignotus.

The Resurrection Stone too was being passed on to descendants of the family and was lost for ages until it resurfaced in the possession of the Gaunt family. It was later made into a ring, however, neither Marvolo nor Tom Riddle (Voldemort) knew of the value of the stone and Voldemort even made it into a horcrux. This was later destroyed by Dumbledore and then passed the stone onto Harry inside the snitch as one of the objects he bequest upon his death. Harry later used the stone to talk to his parents, Sirius and Tonks and Remus before he went off to face Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest. After which he dropped the stone in the forest floor and didn’t anyone except the portrait of Dumbledore in the headmaster’s office so no one will seek to fight it.

The wand however changed hands in the most violent ways. It was passed on to from wizard to wizard almost always through murder; for whoever snatches the wand from its over becomes its new master. Gregorovich, a Bulgarian wand maker used to own the wand until it was stolen by the young Grindelwald. Voldemort fought and defeated Grindelwald and so he took possession of the wand. Later, at the Astronomy Tower he was disarmed by Draco Malfoy and so Malfoy became the master of the wand but he never really physically possessed the wand. When Harry later disarmed Draco, even though Draco had a different wand in his hand at the time, the magic in it caused it to recognise Harry as its new master. Severus kept the wand in safekeeping, and it was laid to rest with the Headmaster’s body.

It eventually stolen by Voldemort at Dumbledore’s tomb but because he was not able to attain the wand by killing or over-powering its master he could not fully utilized its powers.

Possession:

The Deathly Hallows was never really in one person’s possession ever before ….until Harry.

Dumbledore was again to gain all of them but not all at the same time. Harry had them all in his possession and would have been invincible except that he chose to lose the Resurrection Stone, and broke the Elder Wand. The only one he kept was the Cloak of Invisibility which he might someday passed on to one of his children.

I’m betting it’ll be Albus Severus, the 2^nd son.

I am of the opinion that it will be quite hard for non-HP book fans to understand the full extent and implications of the final installment of the movie without knowing the background of underlying the plot.

HORCRUXES…what are these?

—based on JK Rowling’s own definition – “the receptacle is prepared by dark magic to become the receptacle of a fragmented piece of soul and that that piece of soul deliberately detached from the Master Soul to act as a future safeguard or anchor to life and to safeguard against death.“

The act of creating a horcrux splits the soul allowing the Dark Wizard to hide a fragment of his soul into another object. Creating a single horcrux allows the dark wizard to resurrect himself in the event that his mortal body is destroyed. However, creating multiple horcruxes damages the soul that physically disfigures the wizard and diminishes his humanity.

The creation of the horcrux can be reversed by its creator through truly feeling remorse, though the effects of this can apparently be painful to the point of being fatal. It can also be destroyed by another person but it can be extremely difficult.  It requires that the horcrux should be destroyed beyond repair. All known methods of destroying horcrux are deadly – for example one of the earliest known means of destroying a horcrux is by administering basilisk venom on the object, however procuring that is near impossible.

Voldemort created seven horcruxes. According to JKR herself there are still seven horcruxes hidden and that these are the ones that Harry and the others must find and destroy. This, it seemed does not include the soul he is using at the moment. In any case, Voldemort survived after the curse he casts on Harry was deflected by his mother’s protection and rebounded on Voldemort himself. He then survived by drinking unicorn blood which is also considered an evil act. His body solidified to its current state due to a ritual performed by Wormtail in book 4/movie 4 (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire)

7 Horcruxes

1. Tom Riddle’s Diary – this was destroyed by Harry in book 2/movie 2 (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secret) using a basilisk fang.
2. Marvolo’s Ring – destroyed by Dumbledore himself in book 6/movie (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince) although it was not clear how Dumbledore destroyed the ring it poisoned his hand. Snape was able to isolate the poison on the lower part of Dumbledore’s hand but it will eventually spread throughout his body killing him.
3. Merope’s locket – Harry and the others found the locket in book 7 (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows)/ movie 7 part 1 and destroyed the locket using Gryffindor’s sword; the sword was a Goblin-made artifact and thus was able to imbibe qualities that strengthen it. When Harry used the sword to kill the Basilisk in book 2/movie 2 the sword absorbed the strength of the basilisk poison.
4. Hufflepuff’s Cup – destroyed by Ron and Hermione in movie 7 part 2, again using basilisk poison.
5. Ravenclaw’s Diadem – destroyed by Harry, Ron and Hermione in movie 7 part 2, using both the basilisk poison and Fiendfyre.
6. Nagini (the snake) – killed by Neville Longbottom in movie 7 part 2 using the sword of Gryffindor.
7. Harry Potter – more particularly his scar. Destroyed by Voldemort himself when he performed the killing curse on Harry (Avada Kedavra) however, as Harry passed through that space between life and death his soul separated from Voldemort’s soul and so he was able to go back and live on.

The horcruxes had to be destroyed (all of them!) before Harry faces off with Voldemort because then the Dark Lord will be weakened enough to be killed. Harry Potter can never be as strong as Voldemort but as with any fight everyone has a weakness even Voldemort. This was the weakness that they have been looking for since book 5/movie 5 and was only revealed in book 6/movie 6.

First off, I apologize that this took longer than I expected but RL caught up with me and I had to set aside writing my blog for a few days but anyways..it’s here now.

Harry Potter and the Death Hallows part 2 was probably THE most anticipated movie of 2011; it was the culminating piece to the 10-year run of the series and expected to create a big bang…and the movie did not disappoint. To say that the movie was enjoyable was probably the understatement of the year – it was memorable, enjoyable and all together magnificent.

The movie started right where it left off in part 1…it began even before the Warner Bros. logo appeared. Then it went right off to give a review of what took place during the last movie and dove right into the action sequence. The insertion of the now very familiar HP theme just at the moment when the trio decided to return to Hogwarts was done to create a feeling of nostalgia which greatly worked. Being a huge fan of HP from the very start, having followed the books (lining up in front of the bookstores when the next installment was supposed to come out) and then following the films…the scene pinched my heart evoking a reaction I can only describe as bittersweet.

David Yates did what many of his predecessors should have done – he did not try to compress a very complex and voluminous book into a 2 ½ movie but rather he took the time to stay “almost” religiously close to the original text and gave the story the width and berth that it deserved. True there were instances where the movie deviated from the book but those moments were few and tolerable, even to the point of being wholeheartedly welcomed. In truth, the movie clarified a lot of issues that the book was not able to do, and when it did deviate from the original text it was all for the betterment of the plot. Ultimately, Yates improved on Deathly Hallows.

In the film we saw what we would have wanted to see in the the book.  David Yates also gave us some of the things we would have wanted to find in the final installment of the book but didn’t. Here we saw Ginny, having broken up with Harry and yet the love between them was so obvious it was painful to see. Then even if you don’t see Ginny as much as you wanted to it was obvious that, at least in the film, she was a powerful witch and a very brave one too.

The film was basically dark and serious but there were moments of humor and these came from the most unexpected characters and at the most unexpected moments. We also saw McGonagall prove to us why she was Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts. We all knew she was “supposedly a powerful witch, adept at Transfiguration” but who knew McG could kick ass – and a damn well good ass it was! Seeing McGonagall in a duel with Snape, I honestly grew nervous, not really sure who would win. Snape was a noted dueling master but who knew McGonagall could kick his ass! Wooot!!!!!!!

And then the scene..the moment that everyone was eager to see..the one that if the film makers did not include in the film you can be sure that fans will tear their hearts out and feed it to the dogs…maybe to Greyback ,who knew – Molly fighting with Bellatrix! Oh that moment when Molly said those memorable fine words “Not my daughter, you bitch!” the theater literally exploded with shouts and claps from the excitable audience. That was truly one of the highlights of the film. One of her sons had just been killed and she was in no mood to see anyone hurt her only daughter too!

And here we see the complexity of Snape’s character. It was rumored that all these years Alan Rickman kept a secret about the character that only he and JKR knew…and I guess this was it. Honestly, the scene of Snape’s death and the revelation of his memories did not affect me at all in the books; it lacked the right element somehow. But the movie brought it all out in full detail such that the scene was so emotionally packed. I was crying.

The idea that Snape could dedicate himself to protecting the son of the woman he loved just seemed so ridiculous in the book, however the way that it was presented in the film made it completely believable, even heart-rending. We were made to understand that few people ever got close to Snape, that he had loved Lily even when they were children and because he had little friends and almost no association with women, he loved her from afar. There had never been any other woman in his life except for Lily. He protected her even when he knew it would put him in danger, his affinity to Dumbledore had nothing to do with love or loyalty but rather he was indebted to the man from the day he promised to do anything if Lily and her family could be protected. He was willing to suffer as a double agent if it means protecting the woman he loves and those she loves. And yet there was nothing overly romantic or lovey-dovey sweetness about it, it was just plain devotion and pure love – it was tragic but beautiful.

Then came the horcruxes…Harry’s death was one the lamest part of book 7 for me and yet here it was presented and explained in such a way that it all became clear. How Dumbledore knew all along that Harry was a horcrux and in Snape’s words Dumbledore was raising him “like a pig to the slaughter”.  And yet again you are made to understand that it had to happen because without Harry they would never be able to find the other horcruxes. Voldemort needed to rise again to be able to be destroyed. And Harry has to die so that he could be separated from the part of Voldemort’s soul that was living inside him. It just all made so much sense all of a sudden.

And finally the last battle between Harry and Voldemort – the film wisely deviated here so that at the heat of the battle at Hogwarts you will rarely hear anyone use spells to fight. Now, in the book one of the parts that received the most criticism was the part when Harry defeated Voldemort with a simple Expelliarmus spell. The film brilliantly down played that part and rather had the characters fight without saying any spells. That was really a very, very smart move on the part of David Yates.

If there’s ever a spin off to be done on the story I wish they would make one about Neville and Luna, those two have developed into great characters but I just get this feeling that there was more to them. Neville finally proved without a shadow of doubt that he was a true Gryffindor, having been able to wield the sword of Gryffindor. And in the end killing Nagiri.

All in all it was a magnificent rendering of a very complex book and even more so since it was done in 3D. The subtle symbolism of farewell inserted here and there was really the proper way to say so long to the series. We were confronted with places and things we have come to associate with the Harry Potter story – we said goodbye to the Quidditch stadium as it burned to the ground, we passed through Hogsmead, the Sorting Hat all tattered and grimy but still useful, the boat house where the first years enter through….it was wonderful to see those places and things again.

The characters have grown up so much too over the decade, I guess that’s why I feel sort of cheated that Daniel seemed to have move on so quickly..but I guess they all deal with sadness differently. Emma immersed herself in her studies, Rupert will be taking a breather and Dan is drowning himself in his work.  I wonder when we’ll be able to see these actors and actresses again but whenever that  will be they will always be the magical trio of the Harry Potter fame for me.

It’s 10:45 p.m. and hubby and I  just came back from watching HP 7 part 2….I am feeling sort of melancholy really….the movie wasn’t good…IT WAS GREAT! but somehow I feel like a beautiful chapter of my life had just come to a close.

For the last decade, Harry Potter had become a constant in my life. Harry Potter opened a lot of new doors for me…it is through Harry Potter than I became a part of several Yahoo groups, met a lot of wonderful people who have became an important addition to my life (friends who became so close to me they’re almost like family), and to my otaku friends Harry Potter is an added bond that we have aside from anime. My book, movie and memorabilia HP collection is something I am deeply proud of. They’re not that extensive but they were acquired with a lot of care and patience.

Watching the credits roll tonight was like parting with an old, trusted and dearest friend.  At one point I didn’t want the movie to end because then  I know there would be nothing more to look forward to from then on. This was the last installment of the series, and a part of me never wanted it to stop. The book series concluded in 2007  but somehow that didn’t feel as conclusive as this…somehow at the time I know there was still something to look forward to – several more movies in fact. This time really felt like the closing of a curtain. And still  a big part of me still cling to the magic that was Harry Potter.

Yes, MAGIC for that was really want it was all this time. JKR weaved a mesmerizing spell that bound us all these year; her character had taken on a life of its own and became part of history. I cannot think of any book or even movie that ever have this much following or loyalty.  The series is so popular that every book release or movie premier is considered an international event and hugely news worthy. Seven books, eight movies….and three endearing characters….

As people clapped at the end of the last scene, I sat there and heaved a big and heavy sigh…It is done, the Harry Potter series had ended. As all good things must come to an end, so too something even as beautiful and captivating as Harry Potter. To me this was like seeing an old friend go to some far away land, it is so long but not goodbye. For from time to time that friend will write an email or chat on line or call on the phone..still accessible but out of sight. So too will Harry Potter be…for from time to time I know I will still visit the books, relive the movies and remain friends with the people whom through Harry Potter have become an integral part of my life too…

To Bonnie, Jo, Chris, and Dawn….thank you for being a part of my life. To J.K. Rowling…thank you for the privilege of knowing Harry, Ron and Hermione. Thank you for Hogwarts, Hogmeads, for Snape, Dumbledore, Hagrid, and McGonagall – thank you for sharing this wonderful world of Harry Potter with us.

And to Harry Potter thank you for being with us…your presence will be a uniquely personal part of us your fans….and the Harry Potter world and culture will be an important and characterizing part of the generation that knew and experienced your world.

So long….till we meet again.

Those close to be know that I like yaoi (anime with male-male relationship) and sometimes I even read slash stories but this is really something else – something that’s so beyond fantasy. I have nothing against love between same sex….I mean it happens, right? These days they have a lot of explanation why a boy/girl turn out gay. Mostly, explanations tell us that its not really their fault…some are just inclined or are simply genetically born that way. We can’t blame them.

However, allowing them to marry someone of the same sex is an entirely different thing. As married couple we would have to give them the same privileges as any married couple – like adopting a child. In reality, I have nothing against that too. I mean, two people of the same sex can raise a child properly, sometimes even better than some heterosexual couples, provided that they do not allow the child to be oriented with their sexual preferences at an early age. I know that it would have a huge effect on the child having same sex parents and they would get teased but with proper guidance that child may be able to cope.

What I am against is the blatant display of “gay-ish” behavior. I have lot of gay friends and if you look at them you’ll just see two men walking or talking or rooming together – what they do behind closed doors and away from public eyes is their business. I guess in a way I am more inclined to the Japanese way of treating the subject. For years, Japan is a gay’s dream land. There they are accepted, and sometimes even wooed.  However, they keep their relationship private and well hidden from public eyes. “Hostos” are very successful in Japan. Men are open to relationships with other men (in secret).

So I guess at the end of the day, I can accept the idea of same sex marriage but I am against them demonstrating it in public. That is the logical, practical side of me talking right there. Now if you ask my moral side of course I don’t agree with it. Women are made for men; our bodies are designed for each other…its how God intended things to be and it’s what’s natural.

Now, you might ask why I started to get an opinion on the subject all of a sudden….well, here’s the link to the video my dearest ‘kohai’ posted and this got me going….  video here

I have always been an admirer of Dr. Jose Protacio ‘Rizal’ Mercado y Realonda or simply Jose Rizal. I was 7 years old when I first heard his name…it was part of our history lesson of course to learn first and foremost the ‘nationals’ – national tree, national flower, national anthem, national fruit, national bird, national animal…and of course national hero. However, it was in my 2nd year in college when I truly began to appreciate our national hero and I have been a great admirer of him since then.

A lot of people question the choice of Jose Rizal as the Philippines’ national hero simply because he was not involved in the ‘Himagsikan’ (revolution) or that he didn’t take up arms like many of our national heroes like Andres Bonifacio. However, as my Rizal professor (sorry sir but I completely forgot your name) once said, Rizal may not have taken up arms like Bonifacio but his influence through his writings, discourses and other peaceful means, extends beyond age, borders and culture. Rizal was an intellectual. He is one of the few people in this world that can claim to be both a polymath (a person whose expertise spans a significant number of different subject areas) and a polyglot – someone with a high degree of proficiency in several languages. Although many of the scientists in the past are polymathic…few intellectuals can claim to be polyglot. Now, we call people who speak 2 languages (like most Filipinos – English & Pilipino) as bilingual; we call someone who speaks 3 languages as trilingual (some Filipino are such – English, Pilipino then  either Spanish, Japanese or Chinese); and we call people who speak more than 3 languages but not more than 6 multi-lingual. Polyglots are conversant and fluent in more than 6. Rizal, however, is conversant in 20 languages and 7 local dialects.

Aside from his many intellectual prowess (he was an inventor, an opthalmologist, a scientist, a philosopher, a writer, an ardent traveler,  a poet, and an artist), Rizal also lived a very interesting and colorful life. I have always wondered why when they make a movie out of his life they always center on his political exploits or they sought to put color into this part of his life when in fact Rizal’s life is already as adventurous and colorful as anyone could ever wish life to be.

His life is one of the most documented of the 19th century largely because vast and extensive records made by and about him. Most everything in his short life is recorded somewhere, being himself a regular diarist and prolific letter writer, much of these material having survived.

His European friends kept almost everything he gave them, including doodlings on pieces of paper. In the home of a Spanish liberal, Pedro Ortiga y Pérez, he left an impression that was to be remembered by his daughter, Consuelo. In her diary, she wrote of a day Rizal spent there and regaled them with his wit, social graces, and sleight-of-hand tricks. In London, during his research on Morga’s writings, he became a regular guest in the home of Dr. Reinhold Rost of the British Museum who referred to him as “a gem of a man.”  The family of Karl Ullmer, pastor of Wilhelmsfeld, and the Blumentritts saved even buttonholes and napkins with sketches and notes. They were ultimately bequeathed to the Rizal family to form a treasure trove of memorabilia.

However, being incurable romantics as the Filipinos are, we are greatly fascinated by his many loves.  Historians like to called them “Rizal’s dozen” when it fact there were only 9 women with home our national hero was linked to.  And in order of their connection with Rizal they were:

Segunda Katigbak
Segunda Katigbak was his puppy love; Rizal’s first love. She was from a prominent family from Lipa, Batangas and was sent at an early age to study at the best school in Manila at the time – the Colegio de la Concordia. There she became friends and classmates with Rizal’s sister Olimpia. Rizal became very infatuated with her and wrote her many romantic letters. Unfortunately, his first love was not to be because Segundwas engaged to be married to a town mate- Manuel Luz.

Rizal wrote of his first love: “Ended at an early hour, my first love!  My virgin heart will always mourn the reckless step it took on the flower-decked abyss.  My ilusions return, yes, but indifferent, uncertain, ready for the first betrayal on the path of love”.

Leonor Valenzuela                                                                                                                                                                                                                   After his admiration for a short girl in the person of Segunda, then came Leonor Valenzuela, a tall girl from Pagsanjan. Rizal send her love notes written in invisible ink (salt dissolved in water) that could only be deciphered over the warmth of the lamp or candle. He visited her on the eve of his departure to Spain and bade her a last goodbye.

Leonor Rivera
Leonor Rivera, his sweetheart for 11 years played the greatest influence in keeping him from falling in love with other women during his travel. Unfortunately, Leonor’s mother disapproved of her daughter’s relationship with Rizal, who was then a known filibustero (someone who goes against the norms, a radical, a free-thinker; during the time of the Spaniards a filibustero in the Philippines is someone who goes against the teaching of the catholic church).  She hid from Leonor all letters sent to her sweetheart. Leonor believing that Rizal had already forgotten her, sadly consented her to marry the Englishman Henry Kipping, her mother’s choice.

Consuelo Ortiga
Consuelo Ortiga y Rey, the prettier of Don Pablo Ortiga’s daughters, fell in love with him. He dedicated to her A la Senorita C.O. y R., which became one of his best poems. The Ortiga’s residence in Madrid was frequented by Rizal and his compatriots. He probably fell in love with her and Consuelo apparently asked him for romantic verses. He suddenly backed out before the relationship turned into a serious romance, because he wanted to remain loyal to Leonor Rivera and he did not want to destroy his friendship with Eduardo de Lete who was madly in love with Consuelo.

Seiko Usui (affectionately called by Rizal as Osei-san)
Osei-san, a Japanese samurai’s daughter taught Rizal the Japanese art of painting known as sumi-e. She also helped Rizal improve his knowledge of Japanese language. If Rizal was a man without a patriotic mission, he would have married this lovely and intelligent woman and lived a stable and happy life with her in Japan because the Spanish legation there offered him a lucrative job.

Gertrude Beckett
While Rizal was in London annotating the Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas, he boarded in the house of the Beckett family, within walking distance of the British Museum. Gertrude, a blue-eyed and buxom girl was the oldest of the three Beckett daughters. She fell in love with Rizal. Tottie helped him in his painting and sculpture. But Rizal suddenly left London for Paris to avoid Gertrude, who was seriously in love with him. Before leaving London, he was able to finish the group carving of the Beckett sisters. He gave the group carving to Gertrude as a sign of their brief relationship.

Nellie Boustead
Rizal having lost Leonor Rivera, entertained the thought of courting other ladies. While a guest of the Boustead family at their residence in the resort city of Biarritz, he had befriended the two pretty daughters of his host, Eduardo Boustead. Rizal used to fence with the sisters at the studio of Juan Luna. Antonio Luna, Juan’s brother and also a frequent visitor of the Bousteads, courted Nellie but she was deeply infatuated with Rizal. In a party held by Filipinos in Madrid, a drunken Antonio Luna uttered unsavory remarks against Nellie Boustead. This prompted Rizal to challenge Luna into a duel. Fortunately, Luna apologized to Rizal, thus averting tragedy for the compatriots. Their love affair unfortunately did not end in marriage. It failed because Rizal refused to be converted to the Protestant faith, as Nellie demanded and Nellie’s mother did not like a physician without enough paying clientele to be a son-in-law. The lovers, however, parted as good friends when Rizal left Europe.

Suzanne Jacoby
In 1890, Rizal moved to Brussels because of the high cost of living in Paris. In Brussels, he lived in the boarding house of the two Jacoby sisters. In time, they fell deeply in love with each other. Suzanne cried when Rizal left Brussels and wrote him when he was in Madrid. – “After your departure, I did not take the chocolate. The box is still intact as on the day of your parting. Don’t delay too long writing us because I wear out the soles of my shoes for running to the mailbox to see if there is a letter from you. There will never be any home in which you are so loved as in that in Brussels, so, you little bad boy, hurry up and come back….

Josephine Bracken
In the last days of February 1895, while still in Dapitan where he was exile on his return to the Philippines, Rizal met an 18-year old petite Irish girl, with bold blue eyes, brown hair and a happy disposition. She was Josephine Bracken, the adopted daughter of George Taufer from Hong Kong, who came to Dapitan to seek Rizal for eye treatment. Rizal was physically attracted to her. His loneliness and boredom must have taken the measure of him and what could be a better diversion that to fall in love again. But the Rizal sisters suspected Josephine as an agent of the friars and they considered her as a threat to Rizal’s security.

Rizal asked Josephine to marry him, but she was not yet ready to make a decision due to her responsibility to the blind Taufer. Since Taufer’s blindness was untreatable, he left for Hon Kong on March 1895. Josephine stayed with Rizal’s family in Manila. Upon her return to Dapitan, Rizal tried to arrange with Father Antonio Obach for their marriage. However, the priest wanted a retraction as a precondition before marrying them. Rizal upon the advice of his family and friends and with Josephine’s consent took her as his wife even without the Church blessings. Josephine later gave birth prematurely to a stillborn baby, a result of some incidence, which might have shocked or frightened her. Some historian claim that it was Rizal playing a joke on his pregnant wife which her to miscarriage however this claim was very verified.  He named the baby ‘Francisco’ after his father and buried him in a lot outside their home in Dapitan. 

…..I have decided that I will stop here for now, Rizal’s life is much too complicated and comprehensive for me to be able to do justice to our national hero in just one writing so I shall stop here now….and tackle his other exploits in my next blog…

Now, I fully understand the premise..the film was set sometime in the future (2154) and the humans have developed technology enough to travel through space to another galaxy. Pandora was an Earth-like habitable moon inhabited by the Navis – a 10 foot, blue-skinned, humanoid but the atmosphere was poisonous to humans. However, it is rich in rare minerals that greedy humans (as always) want so they invented a way to middle with the natives of Pandora to study it’s biosphere and maybe be allowed to acquire the minerals.  Thus, came the Avatars, the Navi-human hybrid bodies that the humans control by transferring their consciousness into. This is where by confusion began…

For the Avatar to move among the Navi and be able to feel and communicate with Eyra (Navi-god) it has to be organic – not sythetic, not plastic, and of course not robot. Got that one. So it is “HYBRID” therefore it must have been genetically created (like the Dinosaurs of Jurassic part) meaning part of the gene would have come from humans and the other half from Navi. And they are probably developed in test tubes…..but even genetically engineered creatures have their own consciousness. So how can consciousness be transferred to that host body?

The only explanation I can think of is they were able to develop a system wherein the body (hybrid) that comes out – comes out as an empty shell. It has all the mechanism but without the faculties. However, the movie does not explain this…unlike with Jurassic Park they explained by the animals are all females…and how they were able to substitute the genetic code of frogs to incomplete DNAs.

So what I want to know is…what constitute the make up of the Avatar and why or how was it created so that it becomes an organic being without consciousness?

Hubby introduced me to Akira Kurosawa some 10 years ago, and I’ve been a huge fan of the great director since then. Being a big fan of the great Akira Kurosawa, I became real curious about this new period film that many critics were likening to Kurosawa’s most prolific and famous work – Ran. I searched the web for information about the film and finally at the end of the day my curiosity got the best of me and so I went and watched the film – online.

The film was 13 Assassins (十三人の刺客 Jūsannin no Shikaku) directed by Takashi Miike. And true to form the film was an epic. The film was actually a remake of the Eiichi Kudo’s 1963 black and white film with the same title. Now what makes this film different is the style by which the two directors treated the film. I know very little about Miike, the truth is this the first film I have seen of his making. Miike is best known for his notoriety for depicting shocking scenes of extreme violence and sexual perversions. That was why, people were pleasantly surprised and not just a little curious about this new film. Miike apparently took a more subtle and suppressed directing style for this film which was said to be his tribute to the great Akira Kurosawa.

The film is supposed to be based on actual historical incident that took place in feudal Japan, however there are disputes among critics on which incident it was based on. Some say that the film was based on the assassination of Ii Naosuke the Chief Minister during the Bakumatsu period called the Sakuradamon incident which took place at the gates of Edo (now Tokyo) in 1860. However, the assassination of Chief Minister Ii Naosuke by ronin samurai of Mito Domain involved not 13 but 17 assassins. There is also an opinion that the film was an account of an actual incident that took place on the period stated on the film – 1844. But so far I fail to find any historical record on the web about this incident but that does not mean there isn’t any. There are numerous incidents and great historical figures in Japan that outsiders know nothing about so there might be some truth to this opinion as well.

The plot of the film revolves around the 13 assassins assigned to assassinate Lord Naritsugu, the ruthless and disturbingly psychotic half-brother of the shogun. Because of his status as the younger brother of the shogun, albeit only a half-brother, he was considered above the law and so no one can touch him. Fearing more violence to come if Lord Naritsugu ascend into power as the next in line to the shogun and after another government official publicly committed seppuku in protest for the wrong done to him, Doi Sama (in the film he was referred to as Sir Doi) senior adviser to the shogun was tasked to quietly take care of the problem. The shogun was disturbed by the situation but he cannot raise a finger against his own brother so Lord Doi was summoned to put things right. In turn he secretly hired an old trusted samurai, Shinzaemon, to carry on the task.

Shinzaemon (played by the great Koji Yakusho) needed a purpose, he feared that he would die quietly as a retired samurai yet here was a chance for him to die an honorable death, he was excited by the notion but he needed a strong purpose to do the task. He was sent to meet with another samurai whose daughter-in-law was raped by Naritsugu during his visit to their town; his son was murdered by Naritsugu as well. Shinza was also confronted by the sight of a limbless woman whose family protested against the shogun’s half-brother. Her entire family was killed and she taken, both her arms and legs as well as her tongue had been cut off and she became Naritsugu’s play thing until he tired of her and he cast her out. She was found by Lord Doi’s people and hid her. Just as you’re starting to forget who the director was, this scene brings you back abruptly reminding you that this is after all a Miike film. This was probably one of, if not the most disturbing scene in the entire film.

The sight awakened a renewed sense of duty within Shinza and he started to gather old and trusted friends, colleagues and their students for the mission. They were able to gather 12 in all, including his own nephew, Shinrokuro. On their way they met a forest-dwelling would be bandit named Kiga, who joined them completing the team of 13 assassins. The team planned to attacked Naritsugu along his journey to Edo but before they were able to leave Shinza was visited by his old sparring partner, Hanbei who was Lord Naritsugu’s senior samurai. Here we see two opposing principle clash, Hanbei believing in his duty to serve his master no matter how bad he may turn out to be, because this was the samurai’s duty – to give his life in the service of his master, no questions asked, no judgment of right or wrong. And Shinzaemon filled with righteous anger over what was done to his fellow samurai and the duty to correct what was wrong. In the end, Hanbei left with a promise to fight Shinza if he tries to go against his master.

Shinza assigned various tasked to his men: two were sent to buy and prepare things they would need for the battle and buy out the cooperation of the town they intend to trap Naritsugu and his entourage; two were sent to talk to the samurai who’s son and daughter-in-law was murdered by Naritsugu to ask him to block the passage of the entourage through his town forcing the group to take a route that would lead them straight to the trap. The samurai effectively did as he was asked and he committed seppuku once his task was done. Two were tasked to study explosives before they leave while the others continue to train while they wait for the right opportunity to act.

Once they were ready Shinza took his group to his chosen battle ground, taking to the forest to avoid detection by Hanbei and his men. And once the battle began there was no stopping it. What followed was a 40-minute long battle properly embellished with enough explosions, cleverly set up trapped, sword fights and enough blood and cut off limbs to satisfy a Miike-fan and yet the film kept the story and the glory of the samurai battle in tack. It was a testament to Miike’s talent and you can almost see the wheels turning at full-throttle inside Miike’s brain through out this scene. It was fantastic to say the least; no dull moment and with a touch of comedy beautifully inserted here and there. The heroes of the film, having long accepted death as inevitable fought to the very end; tired, wounded and bloodied but fighting to their last breath.

Naritsugu having lived in luxury all his life was enthralled by all the fighting, he found the samurais loyalty entertaining and glorious that he wanted to bring about a new age of war once he ascend into power. In the end, there were only three loyal samurai left to defend him, Hanbei faced off with Shizaemon and was killed. Shinza honored him by cutting off his head. His anger towards Naritsugu increased even more when the man dishonored his senior samurai by kicking his severed head as if the man meant nothing to him and in truth, he didn’t mean anything to this psychopathic aristocrat. He attacked Shinza piercing him on the side but Shinza was also able to dealt him a fatal blow. Naritsugu crawled in the mud, feeling pain for the first time and realizing he was after all just a mortal. He dies in fear and pain in the mud with Shinza chopping off his head as a coup de grace. Fatally wounded, Shinzaemon died soon afterwards leaving only his nephew, Shinrokuro and the bandit Kiga as the only survivors of the battle.

Judging from the information given by many critics this would considered very suppressed compared with the other works of Miike, where such action scenes would have been done to the extreme in his other film here the battle scene was filled with the weight of honor and conviction. All in all it was a tremendously beautiful film, memorable and definitely worthy of a Kurosawa comparison.

The 13 Assassins

* Shinzaemon Shimada – The leader of the group. A war weary, former decorated Shogun’s Samurai who is hired to carry out the mission.
* Kuranaga – Second in command to Shinzaemon. Another veteran samurai, who volunteers his best students to join the group.
* Hirayama – A fierce ronin, training under Shinzaemon. A samurai of unmatched skill and prowess. His character parallels Kyūzō (of the Seven Samurai) and Britt (of The Magnificent Seven)
* Shinroukuro – Nephew to Shinzaemon. A samurai who has strayed from the ways, a gambler and a womanizer. He joins the mission to redeem himself.
* Sahara – An elder ronin, battle scarred and hardened. He favors the spear to the sword.
* Horii – A skilled samurai from Kuranaga’s dojo, he and Higuchi are skilled in the use of explosives.
* Higuchi – Horii’s demolition partner, a tough and skilled samurai.
* Mitsuhashi – Another samurai from Kuranaga’s dojo, he is instructed to buy out the Mayor of the town, and start preparations for fortifying the town.
* Ogura – A young samurai, untested in battle but with unwavering devotion and skills to match.
* Otake – Plump-faced samurai with a jovial demeanor who provides occasional comic relief.
* Ishizuka – A skilled and courageous assassin.
* Hioki – An assassin from Kuranaga’s dojo, highly skilled.
* Koyata Kiga – A hunter who was found trapped in the woods for pursuing his boss’s wife. Aids the assassins in location the town of Ochiai, and also aids in combating the enemy samurai, using his sling and sticks instead of a sword. Claims to be of direct Samurai lineage. It is suggested he is immortal, as he survives a short sword thrown through his neck.